EMR works on scrap blends via RECTIFI partnership

An executive at United Kingdom-based EMR Ltd. says the firm’s membership in a decarbonization consortium has, in part, led to experimenting with finding effective scrap blends at a nearby steel mill.

In a July blog post, EMR cites its involvement in  RECTIFI, which it calls a project that brings together the steel, cement and recycling industries, as leading to the scrap blend melt shop research. The project is funded in part by U.K. Research and Innovation’s Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge.

“In preliminary trials with Tata Steel, our teams have demonstrated how new grades of recycled steel can be delivered with the chemistry performance required for high-quality, low-carbon steelmaking, lowering the demand for virgin iron ore,” says Roger Morton, director for technology and innovation at EMR.

EMR says it is pairing its expertise with that of the steelmaker to produce new grades of recycled green steel that are engineered to match the chemistry of the final product, and also is working with U.K.-based steel and aggregates byproducts recycling firm Darlow Lloyd & Sons on decarbonization efforts in the cement industry.

“Our work with Darlow Lloyd & Sons ... is helping to develop a new mineral-rich alternative raw material for cement,” Morton says. He indicates quarrying and rock products firm Aggregate Industries is evaluating the material for its U.K. cement kilns.

Materials extracted from EMR’s auto shredder residue (ASR) ideally can be supplied to the cement-making industry as “a sustainable raw material, reducing the need for carbon-intensive and ecologically damaging mining processes.”

In addition to melt shop blending and cement kiln feedstock, EMR is leading on the development of a recycled steel upgrade line, using advanced sorting technology with artificial intelligence as well as a recycled mineral blending plant, both of which will be the first of their type to be built in the U.K., the company says.

The efforts are framed as part of EMR and RECTIFI’s goal to reduce the U.K.’s carbon footprint. “Taken together, the potential reduction in carbon emissions and increased efficiency associated with the RECTIFI project will save more than $568 million per year in carbon credits and materials costs,” EMR says.

The firm says sectors that produce basic materials such as steel and cement are “foundation industries,” as they underpin much of the manufacturing and construction that happens in the U.K. economy and economies in other developed nations in which it conducts business, including the United States

However, the steel and cement industries are responsible for nearly one-fifth of global carbon emissions—11 percent and 7 percent, respectively, according to a study by Florida-based Global Efficiency Intelligence.

EMR says it is committing to play its part in reducing such emissions and says it is good news that the volume of recycled metal available in the U.K. provides an opportunity for the nation to cut its reliance on mined virgin iron ore

“By supplying recycled metals, plastics and minerals, EMR enables more businesses to source their raw materials in a sustainable way," Morton says. "This helps the U.K. become less reliant on nature-depleting virgin materials such as iron ore for steel and limestone for cement.

“At present, the U.K. consumes approximately 12 million metric tons of semifinished steel every year and produces around 11 million metric tons of steel scrap,” he adds, pointing to a near balance in supply and demand.

EMR says recycled material offers up to 85 percent lower amounts of embedded carbon when compared with "nature-depleting virgin alternatives," noting the advantages of using more recycled metal to feed the U.K.’s steelmaking market.

The firm estimates its work will avoid nearly 5 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent from entering the Earth’s atmosphere each year.

“RECTIFI offers an exciting potential pathway to help these essential foundation industries function as part of a low-carbon economy," Morton says.

“While EMR is working hard to reach net zero by 2040 in line with our sustainability strategy, our position as a leading metal recycler means that we have a responsibility to help the rest of the businesses in our supply chains to decarbonize, too.”